I Dream of Light
by Myranda Rose
Summary: ""Home" the word was said as if she had never heard of such a thing before. "They would prefer you"..."Of course"". When Sasuke's Sharingan goes completely awry, he and Hinata are forced into a dream world with no forseeable way of escape. Eventually, they are going to have to stop fighting one another and work together.
1. Pologue

**Hey, so I am starting this up again. Yeah, I can't really believe it either. It has nearly been 4 years since I put up this chapter. **

**The name has been changed because the direction of the story is completely different. To be honest, I have no idea where I was going with it back then but I assure you that this idea is better.**

**If you have read this chapter before, you might want to re-read it just to familiarise yourself with it.**

**Enough of my rant that I know you won't read. I hope you enjoy yourself! **

**Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by **_**he**_**, but **_**he**_** is not me.**

**Prologue**

**"**_**Home is where the heart is"**_

She just couldn't move anymore, it was like her body was soaked in unwelcomed fatigue. Her mind told her to move, that sleeping on the forest floor wasn't the best of ideas. However, her body completely ignored her brain's wisdom.

The rotting leaves below tickled her sensitive skin. The ghost of an ant trotted across her left leg. Wind wisped around her, as if weakly trying to pick her up, but failing. She barely felt any of this. All that mattered to her was to stay awake in the enemy infested forest. She would be a great disappointment to the clan if she let anyone get a hold of the Byakaugan.

Unfortunately, as far as her eyes were concerned, the hazy image of the tree canopy above her was already part of an approaching dream…or a nightmare.

**/-XxXxX-\\\**

_They came out of nowhere with such ferocity, that at first, all the dark haired girl could do was stare. He looked like a black smudge, wiping through a beautiful picture. Tainting it. Making the once bright, happy painting turn into an illustration of death._

_It wasn't long before other dashes of different colours joined the first. They all blended together until a group of blood crazed missing Nin stood before the Konoha shinobi._

_Little over a minute later, the battle began._

_There was just so many of them. Every time she took two down, four more would pop up and be just as strong. Her comrades fought together, yet somehow, she ended up with a large load by herself._

_Nevertheless she kept going, she kept strong. Not resting for one moment, because she knew if she did, she would simply collapse. That was something she could not allow herself to do, not when she finally had the chance to prove herself!_

_No serious blows were inflicted onto her pale body. However her stamina was slowly, but surely depleting, chakra level not far behind._

_It wasn't until she considered letting them just kill her so she could rest, did something strange happen._

_The ninja, whom she was fighting against, retreated. Right when she was about to give a serious blow to his head, he simple jumped backwards and ran off through the trees with the rest of the enemy._

_The young woman almost gave herself whiplash trying to decipher if it was all simply a trick and she was going to be attacked from behind. That was when she noticed that her fellow team mates were leaving as well._

"_**Sasuke! Don't you dare leave!"**__, the booming voice came from beautiful blond hair which dashed after the black smudge, followed by a wisp of pink, a dash of grey and other people that the girl held close to her heart._

_The figures got smaller and smaller to the pale eyes she possessed, until eventually; the lush green trees swallowed them up._

"_**Wuh-wait! I'm st-till…here!"**__ her voice broke more then thought possible while saying just four words. It crackled as if it were slit open just a moment ago._

_Taking a step towards the people she wanted to help, she stretched her right arm in front of her and tried to call out for them again, though this time, sound didn't even bother to come out of her broken throat._

_They all screamed. Every muscle, every bone. Each and every one screamed at her. Screamed that she should stop and lie down. That it all wasn't worth it anymore. Her friends left her behind. Left her to go after someone she only knew by name and memory._

_Still, she didn't stop. She couldn't help but think that maybe they will soon realise she wasn't with them, and come back to her._

**/-XxXxX-\\\**

That's how she got there. Lost in a forest she thought she knew well, Byakugan failed long before her body did.

That is also how he found her. Like midnight tendrils, her hair was splayed beneath her, mixing with the different shades of green and brown the earth had to offer. Her jacket, which was slightly snug around her yet still hid a lot of her body, was dirty and slightly torn, as were her black long shorts. Her ivory skin suffered the most damage, but only by a few cuts and bruises.

Her face, which held an angelic look to it, was mostly clear and peaceful, except for the smudge of dirt on her cheek, a small scratch on the other and a line of worry etched in between her two brows.

He most definitely did not expect to see her there, another Konoha ninja. As far as he was concerned, he had left them all unconscious a couple of miles back. Yet there she was, vulnerably laying in the mud, for anyone to harm her.

He was…intrigued as he casually walked towards her. The minuet rise and fall of her chest informed him that she still had life in her.

"_Poor girl" _he thought bitterly as a small smirk adorned his slightly sweaty, yet otherwise clear face.

Kneeling next to her, he let his eyes skim over her once more. She looked like a complete mess. She could not leave a scratch on him if her life depended on it. Which it may.

He was about to get up and leave her to her own peril, when he noticed she was dreaming.

Broken words passed through her rose lips as the worry line grew and her small hands gripped the earth below.

He listened, then listened some more. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because her words of agony sounded familiar.

So very familiar.

Shifting slightly, the young man made himself more comfortable. Apparently he was not going to follow through with the plan of going back to the base to put himself back together again.

It's impossible to tell how long he was there, completely unmoving, just listening.

It was then that the unthinkable happened. She started to wake up.

It didn't hurt so much anymore. That most definitely, was a relief to her. However, she could feel the sun's rays trying to penetrate through her eyelids, so she thought it best to just keep them shut.

Focusing on other senses besides sight, she let her nerve endings inform her brain what she felt.

Mud squished against her while twigs scratched at her skin. No surprise there considering her location.

However, there was another feeling. One she was sure shouldn't be there. It felt as if there was something directly on top of her, almost touching her even.

Frowning, she tried to figure out what it was, without opening her eyes of course.

Shade started to cover her eyes as another feeling came to her. The unmistakable cold and sharp tingle of a blade.

Pale violet eyes shot open to see…black? But she could have sworn it was day time.

Her eyes drifted only slightly to realise what exactly she was looking at. A face.

Great amounts of air rushed into her petite mouth as she gasped from fright. All of a sudden breathing became very hard for her as she continued to breathe heavily.

An amused glint sparkled in his eye as he watched her. Besides her increasing rate of breathing, she hadn't made any other movement. Frozen in fear no doubt.

Tilting his head to the side slightly, he pressed his katana further into the neck below him.

A thin thread of blood slithered down her neck like a meandering river. Yet her rigid form still continued to act like a statue, a heavily breathing one.

He decided she looked a lot better with her eyes opened, laced in submissive fear. It gave him a great feeling which was both animalistic and possessive. The sort of feeling you get when you know you can easily take something if you wanted to.

Who she was, was very obvious to him. White eyes with a dash of purple that seemed to get darker the longer you stared into them, this stated she was a Hyuuga. The prestigious clan of Konoha. The seal that usually cursed every branch member of the clan was not on her soft face, implying she was of the main branch. However, exactly _who _she was, was a question he could not answer.

The ghost of a memory flittered into his mind, but he suppressed it. More then enough time was already wasted. He should just kill her.

But he didn't.

The inspiring, glistening blade was still there, pressed into her neck. The shining, beautiful blood continued to pour. Yet still, she was not dead, killed by his hand.

Hinata's mind was in complete chaos. The man her friends have devoted their young years looking for, was crouched on top of her. His body wasn't exactly touching hers, but it was very close. That alone was enough for a small shock wave to course down her spine.

"_What is he doing here?"_

"**Do you fear me?"** the question was so abrupt and out of place, that for a moment, she almost thought she was unconscious again.

Another moment of silence fell as she wondered if perhaps the question was rhetorical. The impatient look on his face told her otherwise.

"**Nhu-Nhu-No"**

The blade travelled a little farther into her neck as he seethed, **"Don't lie"**

Taking a breath to calm herself, she didn't want to anger such a unpredictable character, she whispered,

"**Yes"**

"**Do you fear death?"**

With ought hesitation,

"**No."**

The determination in her voice surprised him, but by the look on her face, it seemed to have surprised her more.

She never really thought about it before. Sure, the life of a ninja makes death seem like everyone's best friend. But she never willingly chose to be a ninja. She was born into a family that made it customary to spend their lives training for a goal that someone else decided for them. And most importantly, she just never thought about it.

Too depressing.

"**Why not?"**

"**Too…Hollow" **her tender whisper coated around his ear before going in.

Sasuke did a very uncharacteristic thing, he quirked his brow. So she opened her mouth to continue, but…

They weren't close, but being ninja's the captor and captured could already hear the heavy foot falls of a team of beings not too far away.

The female noted that their chakra signatures were weaker, but she could still recognise each and every one of them. Apparently, the male on top of her knew them too.

Looking at the group of lush trees and bushes the intruders would soon be appearing through, he slit his eyes a fraction into a sort of glare. Then his eyes reverted back to the figure below him, who seemed to have not stopped staring at him with her large, child-like eyes.

"**They are looking for you"** he stated it in a matter of fact tone, as if he were talking to the mentally challenged.

"…**Maybe"** Over the years, her faith was slowly abandoning her. Yet never has so much left her in one go.

"**They plan to take you back to your home."**

"**Home"** the word was said as if she had never heard of such a thing before. **"They would prefer you".**

A sly smirk quickly over powered his face. **"Of course"**

And that was that. Her comrades burst through the trees and bushes, just in time to see absolutely nothing. Except for a slightly broken girl who seemed to be staring off into the space.

**Sorry if that confused you. Any problems then just say so**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**The Teachings of War**

Nearly four years had passed since that day in the forest. Hinata never had the heart to tell her comrades about her encounter with the dark avenger. She knew that they would not scold her for letting him go- he was a tremendously powerful force after all- but she could not bear the thought of seeing the twinge of disappointment in their eyes. What's more, the Hyuuga did not think there was much to say. He stumbled upon her useless form and decided to not kill her straight away. That is all. Besides, it was not too long after the incident that her ray of life decided to leave the village for three long years with a strange sensei to increase his strength.

The first month after Naruto's departure was unbearable. She had such an incredibly strong feeling that he would never come back; that he would not wish to after discovering the world had so much more to offer than a village hidden in leaves. She would spend most nights hidden in her room, curled up in bed so she could drown in her worry. Fortunately, this torment brought to light a brand new skill for her- the ability to hide her pain. Hinata had learned how much more people liked you if you pretended that nothing they did ever bothered her. If she pretended to be happy, people would not leave her like so many before them did. At least not for the time being.

Hinata Hyuuga learned how to smile.

Naturally this was not all she had learnt during Naruto's absence. If she was going to protect all those close to her, then she would have to better herself completely. Therefore after the first month of his departure, she put her hurt and frustration in her training. Hinata could not believe how much it helped her quest for improvement. It gave her focus. The more she wanted to forget, the harder she would train. Hours would fly by and she would often get in trouble with her father for spending too much time away from home. Not that she minded, she loved that he noticed.

After a year she realised that her father did not require her to be the village's greatest shinobi to be able to love her. He would never tell it to her directly, but she could see it in the way her favourite foods began to be frequent visitors of the dinner table, a table that he never bothered with before. She saw it in the way he encouraged her to train with Neji so that the two could bond and the way he bought a bouquet of white lilies for her to take to his wife's grave on her birthday for he knew how much it mean to his eldest daughter.

The moment she began to notice these small events, she instantly began to grow both mentally and physically. No more would she obsess over the blonde named Naruto. She couldn't stop loving him, but with age, she began to understand that there was more to life than obtaining a boyfriend. She wanted to spend time with her friends; create unbreakable bonds, travel to distant lands, conquer spectacular obstacles as well as enjoy the mundane, day to day life that only the non-shinobi are blessed with.

But in the end these dreams became terribly out of reach. For her to be able to achieve them, she would have to start trusting those around her. Completely. Yet she could not bring herself to do it. Even something so simple she failed at. Was she altogether surprised?

None of this mattered however. Not now. Not in the middle of war where thousands had already died. What did the dreams of one pathetic girl matter when there were people literally screaming in agony. Her fellow shinobi fought desperately to stay strong but their enemies were simply too strong. Too cruel.

Hinata would have wept for them if she allowed herself to.

She glanced over to her right and observed her cousin as he rested. Worry lines appeared on her brow as she noted how much he had pushed himself. A dark part of her suggested that he only had to do that to compensate for her own weakness.

She shook her head and put more chakra into her already activated eyes. _Reach out further. Stretch your sight past its limits. Ignore the pain. Ignore how tired you are. There is no time. No time! Analyse every inch of the forest in detail. The trees are deceitful. _

She found the mantra helped when she began to lose her strength, her will.

Hinata vaguely registered that her team mate Kiba was telling her not to over exert herself. She put on a smile that now came so easily to her and told him that she would rest soon. That was a lie. _"There is no time"._

The female Hyuuga kept this up until the sun had set for the second time since the war had begun. By then her brother-cousin had fully recuperated. The attacks done by the White Zetus had decreased considerably. Any other time she would be rejoicing, but she knew that this could only mean that the enemy was now hidden in plain sight- pretending to be people from her own line. She tried to think up a solution to this problem to no avail. All they could do was wait for a Naruto clone to arrive and dispatch the enemy by using his unique ability to sense hostility.

The thought of him made her smile softly for a moment. She knew the Kage's could never prevent him from coming to their aid, especially when this war was to protect him. He was just too good, in every sense of the word.

She was sitting on a large stone and observed how everyone kept an arm's length from each other. It was a despicable yet genius tactic. Most of the Allied force tried to hide their mistrust; others were too tired to put up the act.

The sound of talking forced her to direct her attention to its source. A shinobi with dark hair and a radio transmission device on his back was speaking to her cousin. She did not hear the start of the conversation, but what she heard was, "-because of this their best bet in finding him is to use a Hyuuga. Therefore Captain Kakashi requests for either you or Hinata-san to join his team."

Said female jumped off of her perch and made her way to the conversing pair, "I-I can go. I have just rested my eyes so it would be more beneficial if it were me."

He studied her with his own eyes, ones that could see everything, "Are you sure Hinata-Sama? He sounds dangerous".

Pretending to know who 'he' was Hinata smiled as she replied "Yes, Neji-nii. I'll be fine. You'll see. I'll be back in no time".

Neji studied her some more before looking at his communicator once more and giving a firm nod. He in turn closed his eyes and silently relayed the information to their commander. After a moment he opened his eyes again and said "They are 15.5 kilometres south East. Kakashi will hold off the last of the Seven Swordsmen but he urges you to hurry. They have already suffered a great number of casualties."

_So that is who I am up against._

"H-Hai!"

She said her quick goodbyes and assurances of her return before flitting into the trees.

/-XxXxX-\\\

Three miles in and she was making good time. Excellent time. It wouldn't be too long before she reached them.

Those who needed her.

Her Byakaugan caught his movements before he sensed her. At first, she could not tell who he was. He was too far away and she wanted to conserve her chakra and strength.

She ceased her running and crouched down on the large branch she so happened to land on. Hinata instinctively took out a kunai from the pouch attached to her right thigh. Her body curled even more into itself as she waited for him to notice her. It did not take him long.

The un-known man stopped his movement as she did and faced her direction. The Hyuuga tried to sense his chakra but he had hidden it completely. _He's good._

Moments passed and he continued to stand in the far off distance, completely still. She could only guess that he was deciding whether or not to move to her location and attack. Focusing more chakra into her eyes, she tried to identify him but something was completely off. The more she focused, the blurrier he got. _What is this? How is he able to-?_

Hinata jumped to the ground just as a ball of fire hurtled towards her. When her feet touched ground, she looked up to see that the branch and most of the giant tree had been completely incinerated.

Flakes of grey ash floated towards the sky as she twirled around into a fighting stance and faced her attacker. Her eyes widened as she instantly recognised her opponent. _Oh Gods, of all people, why did it have to be __him__?!_

Sasuke regarded the creature before him with a blank expression. He instantly recalled their last encounter and wondered if perhaps he was wasting his time and should have simply ignored her and kept going. He had better things to do such as discover the truth about the man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara. The youngest living Uchiha already sent off the remaining team Hawk and Orichimaru to scout the area and bring him information on the proceedings of the war. He was a man who did not like knowing less than his enemies.

He realised he should just kill her before she ran off and told the world of his location, but after speaking to his temporarily resurrected brother, he could feel his dark madness begin to ebb away. Before he had no doubt that Konoha should fall, however now he wasn't so sure. Itachi had that effect on him. Therefore, as him mind decided to become annoyingly indecisive; he would allow the Hyuuga to make the first move. If she did something foolish then no one could blame him for killing her. Not even his big brother.

She looked startled but not necessarily scared. The ball of fire he shot her way was only partially meant to kill her after all. He guessed forcing people to fear and hate him had become part of his nature. He allowed a glare creep onto his face which he thought would have made her jump out of her skin but instead it had the opposite effect. She actually began to look more comfortable. Her arms relaxed to her sides and her expression softened. She looked strangely at home under his scrutiny.

Apparently, she was not going to make any sort of movement either. So they stood there. Neither moving. Neither speaking. Just stood and stared at one other.

_I have no patience for this._ Apparently, neither did she.

"Whu-"annoyed at herself for starting with a stutter, she began again, "What are you doing here?"

_Ah…she speaks._

"I could ask you the same question." Maybe if he enticed her enough, she would lash out and he would then have something to vent his frustrations on.

Her cautious eyes skimmed his face as she wondered whether or not she should give an answer. "Reinforcement"

"You?" he could not help the slight lift of his right eyebrow.

"Yes." She looked vaguely offended but stayed loyal to her spot a few feet away from him.

_This is going nowhere. _His obsidian eyes caught sight of the new head band with the Allied Force symbol that replaced the Hidden Leaf one. For some reason the thought of Konoha getting chummy with the other villages got his blood boiling. It was like the place could get away with absolutely anything. His Sharigan began to activate but he was too angry to notice.

_This damn village ruined my brother and now it is playing friends?! This cannot go on! I will not stand for it. Konoha has brought me nothing but pain an misery. Why shouldn't this girl feel as I do? Her clan is thriving while mine is nothing but an unwanted memory. I despise Konoha! I loathe her!_

Hinata had never before seen the Sharingan morph into such a shape or spin so quickly. The more anger that oozed out of Sasuke's pores, the more his eyes changed. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she gradually became more and more afraid. She knew she should look away, but it was already too late. She was stuck.

The world around the pair began to darken and blur until all they could see was one another. In the back of her mind, Hinata noted that her team mate Kiba would say something ridiculous like, "Hey! Who turned off the lights?!" Too bad this was not the time for laughter.

Just before their surroundings disappeared completely, Hinata heard a voice scream in her head.

"**I loathe her!"**

And then they were gone.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little Children" _William Makepeace Thackeray**

Sasuke could not remember the last time he had slept so deeply- he even found comfort in the hard ground beneath him. Ever since he escaped from Konoha, he had naturally become a light sleeper. A true shinobi is never vulnerable. He might have let himself forever drift in slumber if it were not for the searing pain emulating from his head. It felt like a deranged cat was trying to claw its way out of his skull.

He tried opening his eyes but that only made it worse. **_I swear, if that Hyuuga did this to me, I'm going to tear her apart._**

"Uhhmm…I duh-don't think it was me who did this"

Sasuke shot up into a seated position at her remark, headache be damned. He mindlessly reached for a weapon of some sort to find that he had none, not a single one. He tore his eyes away from her deer like expression and looked at himself. Somehow, his clothing had transformed into an outfit he had not worn in years. Not since he was a child in fact.

A Black shirt with a high collar, matching shorts and bandages wrapped from his ankles up to his knees. He first noticed his brother wearing similar clothing when he was just four years old and knew then and there that it was all he wanted to wear. It made him feel silly emotions such as 'cool' and 'grown up'. He burned it after the massacre. When Kakashi gave him a similar outfit during the Chunin exams he thought that was a hidden sign that he could allow himself a family once again. He ended up burning all of that too.

Sasuke looked to his surroundings to discover that he had returned to the Village Hidden in the Fucking Leaves. In a park to be specific. He closed his eyes in an attempt to not explode- the damned place was just begging to be destroyed. **_How the hell did I get here?!_**

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know. I was hoping that you would." Sasuke's eyes snapped open again and glared at the woman standing before him. For whatever reason, her clothes had been changed as well. Where once she was dressed in Chunin clothing and ready for battle, she was now in a childish white sundress with a large Lavender sash tied around her midriff. Even from looking directly at her, he could see that the sash was tied into an obnoxiously large bow on her back.

Not liking that he was looking up at her, he stood and asked "How do you keep doing that?"

Hinata took a step back before replying, "Duh-Doing what?"

"Hearing my thoughts."

"I thought you were doing that. On purpose. Like before."

"Before?"

"When we were in the forest? And you shouted in my head that you luh-Loathe me…"

Sasuke began to recall their chance meeting in the forest but he had never meant to project his thoughts. Then a notion dawned on him. He moved closer and asked "Did my Sharingan activate?" She nodded vigorously in reply. "What did it look like?"

"I don't know. It kept changing so quickly. I couldn't keep up." Her voice tailed off in the end as she stared at her feet.

He knew it. It was the Mangekyou Sharingan. It must have reacted to his emotions and sent them both deep into a genjutsu. Even though he had yet to fully master it, it never occurred to him that it would do something like this.

Sasuke looked at his surroundings more closely to confirm him hypothesis. Everything in this version of Konoha was surreal. Most colours looked diluted while others were too bright, some objects were much larger than they should be (like a five meter long bench or a jungle gym three times the size of a normal one) and whenever he tried to look up at the sky he would be blinded by what he could only guess to be the sun going supernova. The young Uchiha needed to get out of the hell he created.

He began to walk out of the park.

* * *

Hinata simply did not know what on Earth happened. Not in the slightest! One moment, she was witnessing the very first ever human volcano erupt and the next she was back home. Or at least she thought it was home. Looking at it now, the place appeared to have stepped right out of a dream. Perhaps it was a dream! _But then what is Uchiha-San doing here?_

When she first saw him lying on the concrete floor, she thought he was dead. She instantly panicked as she would never have been able to forgive herself if she let him die before he and Naruto resolved their issues. Even with all his faults, he deserved more than to die like this. That is why when she heard him groan, she inwardly jumped for joy. If she were any other person, she would have hugged him- but she wasn't so she didn't.

She could not quite understand how he was able to suddenly communicate telepathically, but she figured it had something to do with his dangerous eyes or the extraordinary place they were in. it truly blew her mind how strange everything looked. While the Uchiha tried to collect himself, Hinata stole chances to marvel at the tree they were closest to. It sported deep purple leaves and fruit that had the shape of a pear but the colours of a red apple. But its bark was what really made it beautiful for it looked like it had been painted into existence by a giant brush and oil based paint.

Her hand lifted in an attempt to touch it; however Sasuke kept asking her questions. She answered them to the best of her abilities until he suddenly turned away from her and marched off.

This left Hinata with a dilemma. On one hand, he was a missing nin who has brought a great deal of pain to those closest to her- on the other, he was her only means of escaping what was obviously a powerful genjutsu.

It was then she realised how utterly silent it was. Her ears ached to find any form of sound that was not derived from Sasuke; such as people talking, birds chirping or a dog barking. None came to her. She could not even hear the wind, a loyal companion of Konoha. Apparently there was no life in this God forsaken village. _Who would want to create such a lonely place?_

Hinata watched the Uchiha symbol bob up and down as Sasuke continued to walk away. She never realised before how well the red complimented the white. She wondered if that meant the Sharingan and the Byakaugan could somehow work together. _I won't know if I don't try. It is either that, or I wander around by myself for an eternity._

With her mind set, she jogged towards the broad shouldered man while making sure her footfalls were heavy; partially so that Sasuke would not accuse her of sneaking up on her, but mostly because she wanted to know if they would echo. They did.

_A lonely place indeed._

The pair walked for nearly two hours during which Hinata- who kept a safe distance of two meters behind Sasuke- was given the opportunity to discover more anomalies. For example, when they passed the main high school building for non-shinobi children, they should have come across a local grocery which would have forced them to turn right to get onto another street. Instead, they were suddenly in the middle of a small stone bridge over a dying stream. Hinata felt a disoriented wave tumble through her for a moment but Sasuke was completely unfazed. He kept his brisk pace as if suddenly being transported to the centre of a bridge was a common occurrence for him.

Later, Hinata remembered that the bridge was taken down two years ago- before the destruction of Konoha- as it was old and had eroded horribly. No one ever used it as they were afraid it would give way under their feet. She could still recall the one time she had crossed it. She was ten or eleven at the time and did it mostly because her father forbade her from doing so; it had become a rite of passage of sorts. She had felt so anxious during the first few steps that she thought she would vomit, yet she pressed on. After all else she had failed in her short existence, she was not going to fail something as simple as crossing a bridge as well. In the end, she found the entire experience to be rather anticlimactic. The bridge held strong.

Irregularities like the bridge happened frequently throughout the course of their journey. At one stage, they passed an upside down house that was entirely painted in maroon. Hinata peered inside to see that the furniture and various knick-knacks were upside down as well but were all the colour of watered down indigo instead of maroon. Sasuke was no interested.

When the main gate approached their sights, Hinata hoped that this was the end of their expedition and the exit of this strange genjutsu. She wanted to run through it but she did not wish to look like a fool in front of the Uchiha.

Unfortunately, when they stepped through the giant doors, they were abruptly transported back to the park, compelling Hinata to stumble slightly and Sasuke to stop in his tracks. Looking behind her, the Hyuuga saw that the gate had completely disappeared.

Sasuke grit his teeth with an immense feeling of frustration. He had been searching for some sort of metaphorical way out that he may have unconsciously left himself but apparently he was even an ass to himself. All he had accomplished was to walk without going anywhere.

Hinata stepped a tad closer to the Uchiha so she could uncover the expression on his face. At first, he ignored her but then he swiftly faced her, causing her to jump backwards.

"What you're wearing, does it belong to you?"

The insane randomness of the question made her wonder if perhaps she had imagined it so she did nothing but blink at him. He was obviously displeased with such a response, "Answer Hyuuga."

"Nuh-No! Well yes. Whu-what I mean is…I have not worn such a dress since I was little. I don't even know where it is anymore"

**_There must be a reason why we were brought here in these ridiculous clothes!_** This time Hinata did not answer the voice in her head as she knew it would only annoy him further and she did not need a psychotic Uchiha on top of everything else. More of his broken thoughts drifted through her head, none of which made any sense. Eventually, he communicated to her through speech, "Your last memory wearing that dress, what is it?" _he sure is a direct person._

Her mind went blank after that thought. A memory kept trying to press through but would disappear again whenever she came too close. Seeing the impatience in his creased brow, she tried harder to break down her memory block.

"Wait…I think…I think the last time I wore this… you were-" Hinata stopped suddenly when she noticed the intense brightness above them dim and turn a grey-purple while everything on ground level started to melt. It looked like a grotesque painting Hinata one saw in an art gallery.

Once more, panic streaked through Hinata's face while Sasuke just looked vaguely annoyed at the situation.

* * *

Somehow, Hinata was standing in the middle of a lush field, talking to a beautiful woman who at one point in her life, gave birth to Uchiha Sasuke. There were many boisterous people surrounding them and from the array of flowers, she could tell it was mid-spring. The extreme brightness in the sky had returned.

"Well aren't you the prettiest little girl in that dress? Just like a princess!" said Sasuke's mother who then proceeded to pat Hinata's soft hair. The Hyuuga could feel herself giggle before saying the words, "Daddy gave it to me! Because I am a good girl!"

"And I bet you have been helping your mummy too, haven't you?" once again, Hinata's body moved without her permission as her head began to no vigorously.

A warm, soft hand rested on the young Hyuuga's shoulder. She knew who it belonged to without even looking at it. She would never forget the hand that stroked her back selflessly whenever she needed it to most. It asked for nothing but love as it belonged to her heavily pregnant mother.

"I don't know what I would do if it weren't for my little girl looking after me." Replied Lady Hyuuga.

Her mother looked exactly as she remembered. The same unique lavender eyes, blue-black hair and glowing skin that Hinata was blessed with. Both women even possessed the same fringe and bangs framing their soft faces. Hinata stole her mother's hair cut when she saw how her father would stare lovingly at his wife. After that, she wanted nothing more than to earn the same treatment from her husband to be. But she had not felt that way since her mother was still alive.

She continued to stare at Lady Hyuuga's face as the conversation continued, "And would you like a baby brother or a baby sister?"

Hinata's head jerked towards the speaker involuntarily before her mouth moved in reply, "Uhhhmmm…A baby sister! Then I can dress her up like one of my dollies!" The two elder women laughed heartily.

During this interaction, Sasuke found himself in the same field next to a brightly coloured clothed table filled with food and drink. Before him stood the head of the Hyuuga clan, his father and his older brother. The trio was discussing Itachi's latest successful mission. Their father was simply over flowing with pride.

Seeing the ten year old version of Itachi caused an ache deep in his gut that completely washed away his previous headache. The pain from his death was too raw. Sasuke did not even feel jealousy towards his father's blatant favouritism. All he felt was uncomfortably numb.

While the two clan heads spoke, Itachi stole a chance to look at Sasuke and mouth the words 'go play'. It was only then that the younger of the two realised that he was holding a bright red ball; so bright it was almost fluorescent, like everything else in this field. He felt himself shake his head and pout stubbornly. It was a strange and foreign act on his stern face. Itachi gave a small smile before directing his attention back to the conversation so that he could politely excuse himself. The two elder men barely noticed as they had already began discussing clan politics.

Itachi approached Sasuke and asked "Would you like to play with the Hyuuga children?" It still awed him how Itachi seemed to be the most mature individual in the area.

"Do we have to?!" Did that childish drivel really spurt out if his mouth?

"We played with them before. I know for a fact that you enjoyed yourself so don't try to tell me you didn't. Now come on."

The two walked away from the table, kicking the red ball to one another every few feet. It annoyed the living hell out of Sasuke that his very own body was moving without his consent. If this was supposed to be his genjutsu, then why did he have no control over it?

Both brothers stopped in front of a young boy sitting apart from the rest of the busy festivities. Sasuke recalled that his name was Hyuuga Neji. His cold white eyes drifted upwards to look at the elder Uchiha.

"Would you like to join us?" enquired Itachi. At first Neji could not decide what he should say, although it was obvious he wanted to play with them from the way he was eyeing the red ball. Eventually he gave a curt nod.

The three young boys kicked the ball to one another and for a while, Sasuke let himself believe that it was all real. He was given a second chance to be with his big brother and he would be damned if he allowed himself to ruin it. Even if playing with a ball was the single most ridiculous act he had ever done for over a decade.

Sasuke could hear the footfalls of three approaching females; from her tread, he could determine that one of them was that Hinata woman. He craned his neck to see who the other two were as the rest of his body was still fixated on the mock football game. He watched a four year old Hinata chatter in cheerful excitement to another Hyuuga while looking at Sasuke with confused panic. It was quite a peculiar combination.

During a rather ferocious kick towards his older brother, his torso twisted in a way that allowed him to observe the third woman. At first he did not recognise her. Not long after the massacre, Sasuke found that whenever he tried to conjure up a memory of her, all he would ever see was a blurred image floating around. He could not remember how she looked, moved or sounded. Though sometimes, during a hot summer rain, he could recall her scent.

Whatever Hinata said made his mother break into a broad grin. It was all so bloody **nice**. He did not know how much more of this he could take. He needed to get back to reality to finish what he had started.

The two women said something about allowing Hinata to play with them before wandering off to see what their husbands were up to. Said little girl, began to knead at the end of her dress while biting her lip; she was too shy to ask to play. A childish glare from Neji made her back up but Itachi- who was just given the ball- passed it to Hinata. She grinned so brightly it was like she was given her very first present.

Sasuke took the opportunity to try and communicate to her to see if she was the real Hinata or just part of this strange illusion. However, his mouth would not follow his will so he opted for another method.

**_Hyuuga. Can you hear me?_** Hinata gave him a quick nod while passing him the ball.

**_Do you have any control over your body?_** He passed the ball to Neji. She shook her head at him. Just as Sasuke was about to comment on her uselessness, Hinata's mother called them over to eat some of the cake which had magically appeared. All four children instantly stopped what they were doing and began to run to the table of food.

When he was half way there, Sasuke heard a loud thump behind him. He swivelled around to see Hinata lying on the ground weeping a storm.

**_Why the hell are you crying so much?_** Hinata could only sit up and shrug in confusion as the tears continued to pour.

Sasuke watched as his hand reached out to help her up. Hinata looked at it for a moment before taking it in her own. That is when the surge coursed through their bodies. That is when it started to rain.

Sasuke dropped her hand the moment he was in control again. He also saw that her physical self was back to the correct age.

"Oh thank goodness. I-I thought we were going to be stuck in that memory forever." Hinata said as she stood up and smoothed down her already ruined dress.

"That was a memory? Our memory?" she nodded "That would explain why we had no control over its course."

"And why our tuh-tuh-touching was what broke the memory…Do you know what all this means? Why this is happening to us?"

He glared into the distance where their deceased family once stood and replied with, "Not yet."

* * *

**There you go. Hope you liked it! =]**


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